2012 Oscar fashion

My favorite look on the red carpet was Jessica Chastain. Her bold black dress with gold details was dramatic and fantastic. Her fresh, flawless skin and beautiful hair perfectly complimented the look.

Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz were a hot pair of presenters. There was much debate about the placement of J Lo's dress and if there was enough coverage over her left breast.

Lopez in Zuhari Murad and Diaz in Gucci Premiere

The ladies of Bridesmaids each had their own looks but there must have been some coordination to all select neutral tones. They looked identifiable as a group when they presented the three short categories.

The trending color of the evening did appear to be white. I loved Gwyneth Paltrow's Calvin Klein dress, without the cape she wore on the Oscar red carpet. On stage presenting with Robert Downey Jr the dress looked amazing. At the Vanity Fair party, a glimpse of her fabulous gold shoes was shown.

Red always has a solid presence at the Oscars. While not the overwhelming trend that it was last year, Michelle Williams and Emma Stone wore unique red pieces. I am not a huge fan of the bow on Stone's dress but overall it is a solid look. Natalie Portman's red dress was my favorite in that shade.

The two nominees from the Help were hit and miss for me. The dress winner Octavia Spencer wore was a bit safe and she had better looks this awards season. I loved the structure and color of Viola Davis's dress but it was not my favorite red carpet look of hers either this award season.

Another green dress I did enjoy, the light mint of Best Supporting Actress nominee for her role in the Artist, Berenice Bejo. Bejo wore Elie Saab and is seen below with Artist director and beau Michel Hazanavicius. Check out each of the side views of her hair as well.

Did the dress seal the win for Meryl? The votes were already counted and envelopes printed but historically when an actress wears gold she is more likely to win.

Not a huge fan of Meryl's Lanvin gown but this pic with Jean Dujardin is too cute.

Angelina had her outstretched right leg stance down, even a little too much so as a presenter, in her black Atelier Versace. Some sad soul even made a twitter page for the leg.

As much as I missed Oprah's after show this year Good Morning America and Live with Kelly and co-host Neil Patrick Harris almost filled the void. Kelly even did the backstage interviews with winners that Gayle used to do and the show was live from the theater formerly known as Kodak as O used to do. NPH tuxedo suited up to recap the 84th Annual Academy Awards. The on the red carpet reporting of Isaac Mizrahi was fabulous.

It has been a wonderful Oscar season this year and I already look forward to next year. A big thanks to all my readers who made it a record breaking month in views, beating last year's Oscar month.
Here's a few more dresses...

The 84th Academy Awards

It was a nice surprise that Morgan Freeman opened the ceremony by introducing the sequence in which nine time host Billy Crystal appeared in the films of 2011. I loved that when Crystal made comments referencing James Earl Jones and Martin Scorsese, when the cameras cut to them, their shoulders were shaking in genuine laughter. My friends and I played along with the drinking game that the ladies of Bridesmaids created during the SAG Awards, drink whenever you hear Scorsese. It was so great when the girls did it again at the Oscars.

Meryl Streep's win in the Best Actress category was a surprise. While she was in a close race with Viola Davis, I was fairly shocked by her win. I did cast my vote for George Clooney, knowing full well that Jean Dujardin (whose name I made the effort to learn to correctly pronounce, as well as Demian Bichir) might take it. To quote my sister's status on facebook, "like Meryl Streep needed another one. Viola Davis was gypped." I do think Meryl earned it, but none the less, I was taken by surprise. I honestly was torn, I think Glenn Close, Meryl, Michelle Williams and Viola really had Oscar worthy performances. The statistics show that if a nominated actress wears gold, they tend to win -- Meryl proved that.

Octavia Spencer was tearing up when they announced her name, it was tough not to cry when she was announced as the winner for Best Supporting Actress by Christian Bale. I loved how her costars Viola Davis and fellow nominee Jessica Chastain kissed her on her victory on her way up to the podium. Christopher Plummer deserved his win for Beginners for Best Supporting Actor and set an Oscar record for the oldest winner at 82 years young.

Crystal hosted a solid and classic show -- just what the Oscar telecast should be. The "insert your name here" theater was made over to look like a classic theater. The theme of the show was the movie going experience that we all share. Just part of what makes me love movies so much.

My friends made comment after comment about Angelina Jolie's gauntness -- more than one suggested she needed to eat a cupcake. Regardless, I may chop my hair off and get Cameron Diaz's new do -- loved it.

While the topic of baked goods is up, Laura made a wonderfully tasty cake, an Oscar tradition at my parties, that featured images representing each of the nine Best Picture nominees. I also told Marla that I would stay up and re-watch Bridesmaids and the Help on DVD into the wee hours of the morning, I might just.

Can you tell which image symbolizes each of the nine Best Picture nominees in Laura's cake of the year?

Laura and I tied each other again with 18/24 category predictions correct, one more correct than last year.


Looking forward to Jimmy Kimmel's special in a few minutes. Fashion tomorrow.

The winners...
Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson, Hugo
Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schavo, Hugo
Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, The Artist
Best Makeup: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, The Iron Lady
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Editing: Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Best Sound Editing: Phillip Stockton and Eugene Gearty, Hugo
Best Sound Mixing: Tom Fleischman and John Midgley, Hugo
Best Documentary: Undefeated
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Visual Effects: Hugo
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie, Man or Muppet
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Best Live Action Short: The Shore
Best Documentary Short: Saving Face
Best Animated Short: The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr Morris Lessmore
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Best Picture: The Artist

Marie, Dana and Laura

Dana, Deborah, Katy, Marla, Laura, Marie, Anne and Emily's face 

At various times in college, I lived with these awesome women! 

2012 Independent Spirit Awards

Live from the beach at Santa Monica was announced and Seth Rogen made his way to the stage. Rogen's opening jokes were a bit edgy but were very well received by the audience. He began by commenting about the event being in a tent on the beach, when there are perfectly good existing permanent structures. As the event airs on the uncensored IFC channel, the comedic f-bombs fell with hilarity. Some of the jokes revealed plot lines so I will not repeat them to avoid Drive or the Descendants spoilers. Rogen announced the first presenters with one more joke, "Keep your acceptance speeches short, because the tent has to be at a Bar Mitzvah at 5pm."
The event has a lighthearted, fun-loving tone with the same dinner party seating as the Globes and the SAGs. The presenters and acceptance speeches were full of humor and the event was MC-ed by John Waters. George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jean Dujardin were not present. In fairness the first two were not nominated and Dujardin was flying back from the César Awards in France. Back around on the other side, their films were nominated and Dujardin made it from SNL in New York to the BAFTAs in England the next day. Michel Hazanavicius, the director of the Artist, made it back in time to accept his award, so it is possible. Nominee Ryan Gosling was not there either and I have no info on that one.

Interestingly enough, there were ads for the Oscars during the commercial breaks of the Spirit Awards. Of the three writers that won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, the later two are comedic actors which I did not know until the trio stepped on stage to accept their Spirit Awards and I recognized them. Oh, and the "red" carpet was purple. I love that.

Jessica Chastain, Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams

The winners:
Best Feature: The Artist
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Screenplay: The Descendants by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Best Male Lead: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Supporting Male: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Female Lead: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Best Supporting Female: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Supporting Female Winner Shailene Woodley

Best Cinematography: Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Robert Altman Award: Margin Call (given to director JC Chandor, casting directors Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey, and the ensemble cast)
Best First Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50

Best First Feature: Margin Call (award given to the director J.C. Chandor, and producers Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto)
Best Documentary: The Interrupters
Best International Feature: A Separation
John Cassavetes Award (best feature made for under $500,000): Pariah (written and directed by Dee Reeds and produced by Nekisa Cooper)
Piaget Producers Award: Sophia Lin, Take Shelter
Someone To Watch Award: Mark Jackson, Without
Truer Than Fiction Award: Heather Courtney, Where Soldiers Come From

My official Oscar predictions 2012

I reserve the right to change my mind on the Best Actor category Sunday before the Awards show starts. In the mean time, I have done my homework, I have listened to songs and scores, I have seen the movies and shorts, and I have watched the trailers of the films in limbo that are not available for me to watch. Hugo has 11 nominations and will win three. The Artist will win at least five of its 10 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. Some folks express disdain for the predictability of the Oscars. This is not something I experience. I make it my goal each year to be better at predicting and it never seems like a done deal to me. When I start getting 24 out of 24 right on my ballot, more than once to rule out a fluke hole in one, than I may consider the Academy Awards ceremony too predictable. Even then, you never know what people are going to say, what the host is going to do and very significantly, what the fashions will be! This year's show is in the steady hands of veteran nine time host Billy Crystal.

The second scanned ballot is how I would vote, what I think deserves to win. It is really gratifying to fill a ballot out in that way. Voting for predictions of who is likely to win is very different than selecting what films you think and feel deserve to win. I changed my mind about Best Documentary Short and neglected to remove one of the votes in that category. My choice would be for God is the Bigger Elvis. Five of my how I would vote if I were in the Academy selections, are predicted winners -- out of 24. I think I have a good shot at correctly predicting 21/24 right on Sunday. That would be a personal best. 

2012 Best Shorts Festival

For the first time, I was able to see ten of the short films nominated in the Best Short Live Action and Best Short Animated in a movie theater. I really enjoyed the experience and the way that the films were shown. Each short was introduced with a simple graphic of the name of the film, the country it is from and the length of the short. As long as the showtimes and dates work out, I very much plan on going to this event again next year.

 Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday is about a little boy's Sunday activities. He goes to church with his parents and then to his grandmother's house. Several animals are depicted as dead and have x's for eyes. I am not sure if the filmmakers were going for awareness about the treatment of animals or if it was the animation style.

A Morning Stroll depicts three mornings in NYC, the first in the early 20th Century in black and white, a colorful modern 2009 and then an end of days 2059. The apocalyptic tone of the 2059 jaunt is a surprising shift. While the zombie action was almost too gross for me, it was a very funny short. 

Wild Life is about an Englishman moving to a small town in the Wild West in 1909. He writes home about his daily life and is fairly happy until the weather changes. The viewer also learns about comets along the way.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore was my favorite of the animated shorts. The style was beautiful, fun and had a good message about reading and loving books.

La Luna was the one Pixar nominee this year. It played in theaters before Pixar's Cars 2 this past summer. La Luna is the very sweet and enjoyable story of a boy being trained by two seasoned veterans for a job we are not entirely sure of until the end.

There were at least three additional animated shorts that were played after the five nominated films. They were introduced as highly commended and with the info of title, country and length. Then there was a 10 minute intermission.

Short Film (Live Action)
Pentecost is about an alter boy in Ireland who hits a priest with the incense container he is carrying. He will no longer be an alter boy and his father who is utterly embarrassed grounds the boy. The boy is also not allowed to watch his beloved football (football everywhere else, but you know, soccer in the US). The short was very funny and the idea that the alter boy A team was coached like a football team was cute.

Raju has the most serious subject matter of all the shorts played. The film is about a German couple in Kolkuta adopting a boy. The father and son are in a market and looking at papers floating upward in the sky. In the two seconds that the father is looking up, the young boy vanishes. The father soon learns that there is much more to the case of his missing son.

The Shore was my favorite of the live action shorts. It takes place in a small town in Ireland and reminded me of a Maeve Binchy book. It is the one short in which I recognized an actor. Ciarán Hinds is a character actor you may recognize as well. Hinds portrays Joe. Joe has returned to his home town with his eldest daughter after living in America for 25 years. It is a sweet tale with beautiful scenery and cinematography. The Shore had the feel of a full feature length film.

Time Freak is the weakest short in all. It had low production value and the acting was terrible. I am fairly certain I could make something better on my phone. I have no idea why this one is being recognized by the Academy. And it's about time travel -- I am a sucker for time travel stories but there was just too much to overlook. I can not even picture it as a successful viral video on You Tube. Sh8t Girls Say is much better.

Tuba Atlantic is the story of a dying old man in Norway. He spends his days killing the seagulls that live near his ocean-side home. He is non too amused by the arrival of his Death Angel, a teen girl on her third attempt to become and angel. This short is whimsical and sweet and was one of my favorites in the live action category.

And on DVD...
Anonymous

Having read Shakespeare throughout my education like most, I was very intrigued when I first saw the trailer for this movie. The movie calls into question Shakespeare's true identity and if he was responsible for the works attributed to him. The film's nomination for Best Costume Design got thee to Red Box to see one more nominated movie before Oscar Sunday. The film begins as if the viewers are there to see a play, a fun device. The mystery of the story kept me hooked though it is a bit long and there are very few academics support the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship. Vanessa Redgrave portrays Queen Elizabeth I and her daughter Joely Richardson appears as the young queen in flashbacks. The Earl of Oxford is portrayed by Rhys Ifans who looks and sounds vastly different than he usually does. Ifans' breakout role was as Hugh Grant's quirky roommate in Notting Hill. The Earl of Oxford's wife, though a brief part, is played by Helen Baxendale. For the Friends fans out there, that's Emily Waltham. The costumes are very worthy of their nomination though the plot is a bit exhausting to keep up with.

2012 Independent Spirit Award nominations

Seth Rogen will host the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday February 25th. The Spirit Awards are held the night before the Oscars -- on "Oscar Eve" and air on IFC -- the Independent Film Channel. The Artist and Take Shelter have the most nominations with five each.

Below are the nominees of the 27th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards. The winners in the last three categories were announced prior to Saturday's awards show on January 14th at the Spirit Award Nominee Brunch. The Spirit Awards do strive to advance independent film and these three awards include filmmaker grants.

BEST FEATURE
50/50
Beginners
Drive
Take Shelter
The Artist
The Descendants

BEST DIRECTOR
Mike Mills, Beginners
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Another Earth
In the Family
Margin Call
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Natural Selection

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
Bellflower
Circumstance
Hello Lonesome
Pariah
The Dynamiter

BEST SCREENPLAY
Joseph Cedar, Footnote
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Tom McCarthy, Win Win
Mike Mills, Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash, The Descendants

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Mike Cahill and Brit Marling, Another Earth
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Patrick DeWitt, Terri
Phil Johnston, Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser, 50/50

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Lauren Ambrose, Think of Me
Rachel Harris, Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye, Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

BEST MALE LEAD
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Ryan Gosling, Drive
Woody Harrelson, Rampart
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Anjelica Huston, 50/50
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Albert Brooks, Drive
John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
John C. Reilly, Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Joel Hodge, Bellflower
Benjamin Kuh-Sulk, The Off Hours
Darius Kond-Jee, Midnight in Paris
Gui-omme Shiffman, The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron, The Dynamiter

BEST DOCUMENTARY
An African Election
Bill Cunningham New York
The Interrupters
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
We Were Here

BEST FOREIGN FILM
A Separation
Melancholia
Shame
The Kid With a Bike
Tyrannosaur

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast)
Margin Call

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Chad Burris, Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin, Take Shelter *WINNER
Josh Mond, Martha Marcy May Marlene

ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Simon Arthur, Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson, Without *WINNER
Nicholas Ozek, Mamitas

AVEENO TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Heather Courtney, Where Soldiers Came From *WINNER
Danfung Dennis, Hell and Back Again
Alma Har'El, Bombay Beach

Oscar Statue History

I was curious about where the name Oscar originated from. The awards show is technically The Academy Awards, not the Oscars as they are commonly called.

• There is no official story or source for the nickname Oscar but the explanation that the Academy acknowledges is that in 1931 Academy librarian Margaret Herrick made the comment that the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar (he was not in fact her uncle but her cousin, Oscar Pierce).  
• Herrick eventually became an executive director in the Academy.
• One biography claims that Bette Davis named Oscar after husband, band leader Harmon Oscar Nelson.
• In 1932 Walt Disney was quoted as calling his award Oscar.
• The term Oscar was official recognized by the Academy in 1939.
• The awards that the Academy will be handing out Sunday, are officially called the Academy Awards of Merit. There are nine types of awards that the Academy bestows.
• For three years during World War II, Oscar statues were made of plaster. After the war the Academy offered the regular gold-plated statues to those that had received the plaster ones.
• An Oscar statue weighs eight and a half pounds and is 13 and a half inches tall.
• The statue remains true to its original design. The only modification is that before 1945 the size of the base of the Oscar varied. Since 1945 the base has been the same as its current base size.
• 2809 statues have been presented to date.
• The base is a film reel with five spokes that represent the five original branches of the Academy -- actors, writers, directors, producers and technicians.  
• The "Oscar" man is an art deco knight holding a crusader's sword.
• Since 1950 it has been legally required that recipients and their heirs will not sell their statues. They must first offer to sell the statues back to the Academy. If a winner refuses to agree to this stipulation, then the Academy keeps the statue. The Academy keeps the returned statues in their treasury.
• In 1928 Mexican film director and actor Emilio "El Indio" Fernández posed nude for the statue.

If that is not everything you could possible want to know, comment and I will try my best to find the answer.

I obtained the statue facts and trivia mainly from the official Oscar website and some details from wikipedia.


Fun facts about several of this year's Best Picture nominees. The only one of these facts I knew beforehand was the one about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

'The Artist' Did You Know?: Some grumpy U.K. moviegoers asked for a refund because they didn't realize the film was silent 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close' Did You Know?: Thomas Horn got a call to audition for his role after being spotted on TV during ''Jeopardy!'' Kids Week 'The Help' Did You Know?: Long before the movie release, Octavia Spencer voiced Minny in the novel's 17-hour audio book 'Hugo' Did You Know?: Director Martin Scorsese assigned his actors film history homework before they began filming 'Midnight in Paris' Did You Know?: Owen Wilson says he first met and spoke to director Woody Allen when he arrived in France to begin filming 'Moneyball' Did you know?: Jonah Hill stepped into his Oscar-nominated role after comedian Demetri Martin dropped out